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Joseph Figliolia vs. transgender people

People Reviewed March 5, 2026 5 min read

Joseph Figliolia is an American writer, policy analyist, and anti-transgender activist whose work has appeared in numerous anti-trans publications, including City Journal, The Dispatch, the New York Post, Reality’s Last Stand, and RealClearPolicy. Figliola is one of the key people developing anti-trans policy at the Manhattan Institute.

Background

Joseph “Joe” Figliolia grew up in Queens and graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School in 2010. Figliolia earned a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York at Geneseo in 2014 and a master’s degree from New York University in 2019. After working as a research and teaching assistant, Figliolia joined the Manhattan Institute as a policy analyst in 2023, focusing on anti-trans policy.

Selected writing by Figliolia

Figliolia, Joseph (March 3, 2026). Gender Medicine’s Incoherent Standards of Care. The Dispatch https://thedispatch.com/article/gender-guidelines-care-pediatric-wpath/

Figliola, Joe (February 4, 2026). Gender Medicine’s Hall of Mirrors: How institutional consensus and moral certainty replaced evidence in pediatric gender medicine. Reality’s Last Stand https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/gender-medicines-hall-of-mirrors

Figliolia, Joseph (November 15, 2025). What’s Next in the Transgender Wars. The Dispatch https://thedispatch.com/article/transgender-affirm-restrict-children-trump-mamdani/

Figliolia, Joseph (August 2, 2025). The Wrong Way to Cover Trans Issues. The Dispatch https://thedispatch.com/article/pediatric-gender-transition-narrative-media/

Figliolia, Joseph (November 17, 2025). The Texas Medical Association Is Misleading Doctors on Transgender Health Care. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/texas-medical-association-transgender-health-continuing-education-course

Figliolia, Joseph (December 18, 2025). Mamdani’s LGBTQ Morality Trap: The mayor-elect’s gender agenda is built more on dogma than evidence. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/new-york-city-zohran-mamdani-lgbtq-gender

Figliolia, Joseph (December 3, 2025). HHS’s Peer-Reviewed Gender Dysphoria Report Answers Critics: The agency’s updated document could change pediatric gender care in America. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/hhs-peer-reviewed-pediatric-gender-care-report

Figliolia, Joseph (August 29, 2025). McMaster University Fails the Bioethics Test: The Canadian institution is renowned as the birthplace of evidence-based medicine, but some researchers seem to be bowing to pressure from advocates of “gender-affirming care.” City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/mcmaster-university-gender-medicine-research

Figliolia, Joseph (May 16, 2025). How Medical Groups Twist the Truth About Gender Medicine: The recent HHS report reveals how the American Academy of Pediatrics, among other organizations, sidelined evidence and endangered children. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/hhs-gender-dysphoria-report-american-academy-of-pediatrics

Figliolia, Joseph (April 18, 2025). The Dangerous and Muddled Logic of Gender Medicine: Prominent physicians have made startling admissions about their approach to trans-identifying minors. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/gender-medicine-trans-identifying-minors-wpath

Figliolia, Joseph (February 18, 2025). “Conversion Therapy” Bans Put Kids at Risk: The measures, in effect in 23 states, get the evidence wrong. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/conversion-therapy-bans-kids-risk

Figliolia, Joseph (January 6, 2025). The NIH’s Ideological Approach to Gender Medicine: Under Jay Bhattacharya, Trump’s nominee to head the agency, it can recommit to evidence-based principles. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/jay-bhattacharya-nih-gender-medicine

Gilden, Ethan; Figliolia, Joseph; Dreyer, Paul (October 17, 2024). Why Is Reddit Facilitating At-Home Gender Transitions? The website’s “do-it-yourself” transgender community offers tips on acquiring hormones, threatens the well-being of vulnerable minors—and may well violate state law. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/why-is-reddit-facilitating-at-home-gender-transitions

Figliolia, Joseph (September 12, 2024). The WHO’s Defiant Stand on Gender Medicine: In its upcoming treatment guideline, the World Health Organization looks poised to recommend “gender-affirming care,” for which evidence of benefits is weak.. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-whos-defiant-stand-on-gender-medicine

Sapir, Leor; Figliolia, Joseph (June 11, 2024). Casting Evidence Aside: The Biden administration’s new Title IX guidance disregards the research on pediatric gender distress. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/casting-evidence-aside

Sapir, Leor; Figliolia, Joseph (May 14, 2024). Foster Children: the New Pawn in the Gender Wars: A foster-care regulation from the Biden administration conditions federal funds on support for a child’s transgender identity. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/foster-children-the-new-pawn-in-the-gender-wars

Figliolia, Joseph (April 8, 2024). A Radical Measure: Deceptively framed as a benign provision to “protect all New Yorkers,” a new version of the Equal Rights Amendment could entrench the state’s misguided gender policies. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/new-version-of-era-could-entrench-new-yorks-misguided-gender-policies

Figliolia, Joseph (March 1, 2024). Rotten at the Root: Trans activists’ claims don’t survive scientific scrutiny. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/gender-affirming-care-is-fundamentally-flawed

Figliolia, Joseph (February 1, 2024). A Rainbow-Colored Cage: Transgender ideology is sustained by scholars’ unwillingness to challenge its contradictory premises.. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-rainbow-colored-cage

Figliolia, Joseph (January 11, 2024). More Sloppy Scholarship on Trans Identity: Trying to undermine the concept of rapid onset gender dysphoria, advocates succeed only in revealing their agenda. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/more-sloppy-scholarship-on-trans-identity

Figliolia, Joseph (December 1, 2023). A Raging Transgender Debate in the Netherlands: The Dutch, who pioneered gender medicine, are having second thoughts about puberty blockers and other interventions. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-raging-transgender-debate-in-the-netherlands

Figliolia, Joseph (November 10, 2023). Leaning In with Love, Not Ideology: A new book provides parents of gender-dysphoric children with a much-needed lifeline of insight and practical wisdom. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/leaning-in-with-love-not-ideology

Sapir, Leor; Figliolia, Joseph (November 8, 2023). Medicine with a “Transgender Bias”: A new lawsuit raises the question of whether “gender-affirming care” constitutes gay conversion therapy and violated the civil rights of a gay man. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/medicine-with-a-transgender-bias

Figliolia, Joseph (December 19, 2023). Reframing the Gender Debate: Language matters—and on gender identity, the use of confected terms does rationality a disservice. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/reframing-the-gender-debate

Figliolia, Joseph (October 17, 2023). Rotten at the Root. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/gender-affirming-care-is-fundamentally-flawed

Figliolia, Joseph (August 29, 2023). A Radical Measure. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/new-version-of-era-could-entrench-new-yorks-misguided-gender-policies

Figliolia, Joseph (June 13, 2023). The Dangerous and Muddled Logic of Gender Medicine. City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/gender-medicine-trans-identifying-minors-wpath

Media

Texas Public Policy Foundation / The Right Idea with Brian Phillips, Derek Cohen, Lisa Ehrlich, and Joseph Figliolia (November 24, 2025).
Texas Medical Association Captured by Gender Ideology? Feat. Dr. Lisa Ehrlich & Joseph Figliolia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwXjUsYJ-9A

Resources

Manhattan Institute (manhattan.institute)

City Journal (city-journal.org)

The Dispatch (thedispatch.com)

New York Post (nypost.com)

RealClearPolicy (realclearpolicy.com)

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Substack (substack.com)

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